Kids and dead things

I led another educational tour at the wetlands this week, a group of 7th graders. I generally like that age as they are old enough to talk to you on an intelligent level, and young enough not to have attitudes yet. And this particular group was from a very wealthy area of Southern California. So, we head out onto the trails, and I talk about the wetlands habitat, pointing out herons and egrets, showing them the difference between ground squirrel holes and gopher holes, smelling coastal sage--the usual stuff. There are are a few overlooks on the path at Bolsa Chica where we stop to talk about the mud flats, good bacteria, and the Pacific Flyway. Well, we've just been through quite a few big storms in this area. Do you know what happens in wetlands when storms come through? Lots of trash, gunk, and pollution wash down the storm drains and end up at the wetlands. Even dead dogs. Of course the dead dog ends up right smack in front of my lookout point--in clear view of everyone. God knows where it came from--it likely died somewhere else and was washed down the storm drains. It sure wasn't fresh--its fur was gone, and its skin was hard and red from exposure to the sun and water. I wanted to talk about mud flats and egrets. All the kids wanted to do was look at and discuss the dead thing. I tried telling them it was a coyote because I didn't want them to think it was someone's pet, but they didn't care what it was. They were thrilled to see something dead! They wanted to know how it died: did it get in a fight, did it fall off the cliff, did it drown? One kid said "That's the biggest dead thing I've ever seen." It made his day! They were all fascinated! They completely ignored the beautiful egret that was feeding on the mud flats. I had to practically drag them away to finish the rest of the hike. On the way back they wanted to stop and look at it again. I said NO. A few of the little punks lagged behind me and ran to the lookout point when I wasn't watching them. I know they all went home to their estates in the hills and told their parents about the dead animal, the highlight of their day! I hope the wildlife care center personnel get out there and pick it up before my next tour!